Poultry nest



May 9, 1939- i. I INDENBERG 2,157,490

POULTRY NEST Filed Deo., ll, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l m/ gl/Wnrwa POULTRY NEST Filed Dec. ll, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheetl 2 Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE 1 Claim.

'I'his invention relates to improvements in poultry nests and an object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described in which each egg, when laid, will pass through an aperture in the nest and ultimately come to rest in a tray from which it may be conveniently removed.

A further object of the invention is to provide -a device of the character herein described which 'is' equipped with means whereby a fowl, once within the nest, will actuate a shutter which prevents the .bird .from leaving until manually released.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which may be conveniently disassembled for cleaning, repairs, or the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described in which the nests are provided with pads which may be reversed to increase the useful life thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herein described which is constructed almost entirely of metal to prevent the breeding of-vermin therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herein described in which the egg receiving tray is constructed of metallic screen which keeps the eggs in a cool, clean condition until collected.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described in which each egg l-eaves the nest immediately after being laid, thereby preventing the fowls 'from eating their own eggs.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herein described which is of simple construction, economical to manufacture, and will not easily become out of order.

With the above more important objects in view and such other minor objects as may appear as the specification proceeds, my invention consists essentially in the arrangement and con.- struction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 illustrates a front elevational view of a unit embodying a pair of my improved type of poultry nests.

Fig.l 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a sectional view taken` on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

(Cl. 11B- 47) Fig. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the shutter releasing arrangement.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view of the shutter releasing device.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different iigures.

This invention consists of a nest housing l composed preferably of sheet metal, although I do not wish to be limited to material of this nature alone. The housing consists of a rear wall 2 to which are attached a pair of vertical side walls 3 at either end thereof.

The front of the device is provided with a plate t in which are cut twin apertures 5 through which the f owls may enter and leave the nests. A transversely extending strip 6 is secured to the front plate 4, the upper edge l of which is designed to form the lower boundary of the apertures. Attached to the back and side walls of the device is a metallic skirt composed of a rear portion 8 and side portions 9. The rear portion is angulated as at It and is provided along the edge with a lengthwise extending hinge l I for a purpose presently to be explained.

A partition l2 is providedcentrally within the housing extending between the front plate d and the rear wall 2 in order to divide the interior of the housing into two separate compartments or nests I3. The tops of the nests are closed by a cover plate ifi secured to the walls and front plate 4.

Situated within each compartment is a nest foundation l5 consisting of a shallow funnelshaped member, the front edge of which is integrally fastened to the strip 6. The rear edges thereof are attached to the skirt portion 8, whereas the sides are suitably secured by bolts i5 to outwardly turned flanges Il extending from the upper edges of the side portions 9.

The foundation members, it should be noted, are provided with central apertures I8 having downwardly extending, circumscribing flanges I9 fastened to the edges thereof.

These members are each provided with pads i9 upon the upper surfaces thereof, consisting of a layer 2Q of felt or other suitable material interposed between sheets 2l of cotton duck. 'Ihe edges of each strip are clamped between turned metallic strips 22 which form a metallic border extending therearound. These pads, it should be noted, are identical on both sides and may be reversed directly one side shows signs of wear.

The center of each pad is provided with an aperture 23 a short distance from the edge of which the padding 26 is omitted. The double layer of duck is then turned about the anges I9 and is secured on the outer side thereof by a tightly fitting ring 24.

Attached to the wings forming a portion of the hinges i l, is a tray 26 composed preferably of metallic screen, the forward portion of which is upwardly turned as at 21 to form a trough 28. Longitudinally positioned within the trough is a strip 29 of shock absorbing material such as felt or the like. A piece 30 of similar material is attached to the tray beneath each of the apertures 23.

When an egg has been laid, it is intended to pass through the aperture 23 as shown at 3| and to ultimately assume a position as at 32 in the trough of the tray 26.

In order that the poultry may not see the eggs which have been laid, a flap 33 composed of fabric is hung from the strip 6 over the forward end of the tray 26. This flap can be conveniently pushed aside when it is desired to gather the eggs.

Secured in front of each of the apertures 5 is my sliding door assembly 34 which consists of a framework 35 in the form of a pair of vertically disposed members 36 joined by upper and lower cross pieces 31 and 38 respectively.

Each of the members 36 is turned into a substantially tubular formation having a slot 36 extending the length thereof. Adjacent the tubular portions the members are further turned to provide opposed channels 46.

Slidably mounted within each pair of channels 46 is a door or shutter `4| provided with hooks 42 at either side thereof, which are designed to extend into the slots 39. A tensile spring 42 is positioned in each of the tubular portions of the members 36 and is attached to the upper ends thereof, while the lower ends are fastened to the hooks 42. With this arrangement, it will be obvious that the springs will tend to raise the door to the position shown by the dotted lines 43. When in the upper or closed position, each door will bear against the rubber buifers 44 located in the channels 40.

It should here be noted that in order to attach the door assembly 34, I have turned the lower cross piece 38 through an angle of 180, the longitudinally extending groove 39 so formed, being designed to receive the upper edge of the cross strip 6. The upper piece 31 is secured to the plate 4 above the aperture 5 by a single bolt 45. With this structure, it will be apparent that removing the bolt will permit the door assembly to be removed bodily from the remainder of the device.

Secured to the turned portion of the lower cross piece 38 is an angulated bracket 46 to which is integrally attached a pair of outstanding flanges 41. An arcuate lip 41' is secured to the upper portion of the bracket and is provided with a rectangular aperture 43 therein.

A pin 4S is mounted between the flanges 41 and a tongue-shaped trigger 56 is pivotally mounted thereon. A lug 5| is attached to the tongue adjacent the pivotal point thereof and extends upwardly through the aperture 46.

A short shaft 52 is secured to the upper end of the lug and the central portion thereof is exposed to receive a trip pin 53. rIhis latter pin extends through an orifice 54 within a short projection 55 attached to the cross strip 38. When the trigger 56 is raised somewhat above the pad I9' as shown most clearly in Fig. 3, the trip pin is designed to extend over the upper edge of the door 4l and to act as a stop in that position. If the trigger is pressed downwardly, however, the trip pin will retract and release the door which will in turn be raised by the side springs 42 to close the aperture 5.

In order to lock the door in its lower position, a spring leaf 56 is provided which is pivotally attached to the outer surface of the door itself. An inwardly projecting stud 51 is secured to the leaf and is designed to be moved into alignment with an orifice 58 within the door through which it may pass. A corresponding orifice 59 is drilled within the lower cross piece 38 which is capable of alignment with the orifice 58. With this arrangement, the stud may be passed through both of the orices to lock the door in its downward position. When it is desired to release the door it is necessary simply to pull the upper portion of the spring leaf outwardly, at which time the stud will disengage from the orices.

A removable perch 66 is mounted forwardly of the apertures 5, upon supporting bars 6l, the inner ends of which are received within angulated brackets 62.

It should here be mentioned that in order to lower the tray 26 for cleaning, repairing, or the like, an end-shiftable rod 63 is mounted in the skirting 9 and acts as a support upon which the tray may bear. When it is desired to pivot the tray downwardly, the rod may be removed.

The structure of my improved type of poultry nest having been described, the method of operation thereof will now be set forth.

A chicken will enter one of the nests, and as it settles down to lay an egg, the Weight of its body will actuate the trigger 56 which will release the door due to the trip prin 53 moving inwardly.

The chicken will thus be imprisoned until released by hand. In this manner, it is possible to ascertain the identity of the layer of each egg, an indispensible requirement for successful breeding.

When the device is to be used for ordinary purposes, the sliding door assembly may be removed by withdrawing the bolt 45 and lifting the assembly from the housing.

When a chicken lays an egg in one of these nests, the egg will gravitate downwardly through the aperture 23 and will fall upon the piece of shock absorbing material 30 as illustrated at 3|. From this position, it will roll into the trough 28 from where it may be gathered.

If it is necessary at any time to clean or repair the egg receiving tray 26, the rod 63 may be withdrawn from the end of the housing, at which time the tray will swing downwardly, making it more easily accessible.

From the foregoing, it will now be apparent that I have provided an ingenious type of poultry nest which prevents chickens from eating their own eggs, and by maintaining the nests clear of eggs at all times, it has been found that more eggs are laid in a nest of this type than in the usual type of nest.

Since various modifications can be made in the above invention, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same, made within the scope of the claim without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense and I desire only such limitations placed thereon as are specifically expressed in the accompanying claim.

What I claim as my invention is:

Improvements in poultry nesting devices comprising, in combination, a nest proper provided with an egg depositing aperture therein, a housing, the upper interior portion of said housing being designed for occupation by a sitting hen, the lower portion thereof consisting of an egg receiving compartment, an entrance aperture in alignment with said upper interior portion, a spring actuated vertically slidable door, a trigger expositing aperture by a hen seated upon said nest 10 plOpel.

LOUIS LINDENBERG. 

